Just Like Fire
by VegasGirl09
Summary: The Gig Harbor Killer's accomplice strikes again. Follow up to "Going Out Like That"
1. Chapter 1

A bright flash of light illuminated the dark space, flickering once, twice, continuously. It cast a shadow from the black tripod it rested on, panning down towards the floor where shards of broken, multi-colored glass lay scattered. Intertwined above were dozens of brightly colored strings, zig zagging left and right across the room, getting lost in each other. Dark red drops of blood coagulated on the shards of glass, forming a trail that led to the middle of the room, on the cold cement floor where a body lay, dressed in jeans, black dress shoes, a black leather jacket and sunglasses. A large gash oozed blood from the top of the head, matting with the long, stingy hair.

Russell couldn't believe what he was seeing as the flash from the camera's shutter blurred his vision. He had stayed rooted to the spot since entering the building after receiving the call for the 419 at an abandoned warehouse. The thought of moving, of even getting close to this body and this scene made a chill overcome him, mixed with a sudden rush of anger.

Fueling the fire was the flurry of movement he felt beside him. He heard the audible gasp and he knew it was her. He turned around quickly and started to speak to her.

"Jules," he said reaching out to touch her shoulder but she flinched at the contact.

The magnitude of what she was seeing in front of her weighed on her like bricks. Her heart began to pound furiously in her chest. It felt as if all the air was being sucked out of her lungs. The room swam in front of her, as she struggled to make her eyes focus on the colorful strings and broken glass. She felt as if she had been punched in the stomach and that pain intensified for some reason when Russell gently touched her shoulder.

"Don't," she snapped, recoiling at his touch.

"Come on," he encouraged "you shouldn't be here, it's too close, Gig Harbor-

"I need to be here," she insisted now "this scene, all this blood"

"I know," Russell said "but you're too involved, Paul, the coma, the book"

Julie looked at him now with a look of sheer terror, realizing what this meant. They had lost their prime suspect.

As Russell held both her shoulders and started to turn her around towards the exit, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away from the scene and body dressed in leather and sporting those sunglasses, on the ground. She didn't need DNA or prints to confirm the identity; Daniel Larson was dead and The Gig Harbor Killer had sent another message.

Russell guided Julie out of the crime scene and back outside. They both had to squint against the sun as their eyes had gotten used to the dark dusty warehouse. Russell motioned for an officer then said "Take her home" nodding at Julie as he turned to re-enter the warehouse.

"I don't want to go home!" Julie lashed out stubbornly, stomping her foot against the dirt like a child who didn't want to leave the carnival.

"At least let me wait for you at the lab," Julie tried to compromise with Russell now.

He knew they would be at this scene for hours but he also knew there was no changing Julie's mind when she set out to do something.

"Fine," he said waving his hand nonchalantly "take her to the lab then."

The officer looked fearful of getting close to Julie but with her arms folded stubbornly, he was able to gently guide her to the squad car.

Russell had re-entered the warehouse and was met by Greg, Sara and Morgan who were standing by with their kits eager to begin processing.

"How is she?" Sara asked of Julie.

"Upset," he said after a lengthy pause, unsure what word to use to best sum up his blood whisperers turmoil.

"Where do you want us?" Morgan asked now.

"Uh- photos," Russell said distractedly "better than the ones this infernal camera can take"

He nodded at the staged tripod in front of them.

"Don't touch the body until David gets here," Russell reminded them "same goes for the blood, just- just get as many pictures as you can for Jules."

But he was hoping they wouldn't have to utilize her skills for this case. He didn't want to subject her to that horror again.

As the team worked, Russell surveyed the scene better, noting the exact striking details of all the previous scenes Paul and Jared had staged over the last year and a half. As he stared, the guys rattled off their first observations.

'These strings look different," Greg noted "they don't look fleshy, Hodges will have to confirm though."

"Maybe this copy cat got sloppy?" Morgan suggested "the only people who knew how to make those fleshy strings are dead so the copy cat had to improvise"

"Something isn't right with this blood," Sara noticed now "I can't be sure but they drops look too perfect, maybe they were placed here after the body?" We might need Finn to help us with this."

Russell sighed, his worst fear confirmed. His eyes scanned the perimeter of the scene now for the one thing they still didn't have and when they finally landed on it, he sighed again. The tiny grey recorder lay right beside the body among the glass and blood. He carefully maneuvered through the sea of glass before him, snapping pictures of his own before carefully picking up the delicate device with his gloved hand.

"I found it," he said "I'm taking it outside."

No one dared to stop him as he bolted out of the warehouse and into the safety of his car. He locked the doors, carefully turned the recorder over and pressed play. All at once, the eerie voice spoke "The victim is a white male in his sixties,"

Russell listened as the recording gave a chilling account of the entire scene he had just vacated. No anomalies jumped out at him but he knew the AV lab could enhance this better. When the recording finished, he stopped it and placed it in an evidence bag before sealing it delicately. He sighed and watched somberly as David removed Larson's body from the warehouse. As difficult as Larson had been in their previous investigations, he was their only link to this case and now someone had silenced him. Was this Winthrop's play from prison? Who else could he have met and trusted to copy his sick game? Was this a plot to hurt Jules again? Everything that had transpired since they, since _he_ reopened the case had affected her the most. He thought about the recording and the blood drops, both types of evidence that required the attention of Julie and someone else close to this case. He reached for his cell phone now, dialed and waited for the voice on the other line to answer.

"Hey Avery, it's D.B," he said somberly "listen, I need a favor"

A:N/- This will be my interpretation of how the Gig Harbor Killer case could have ended had CSI not been cancelled and gone off track with the finale. More chapters to follow.


	2. Chapter 2

Julie paced around the break room at the lab like she had done on so many occasions when a case had frustrated her. She couldn't help but steal glances at her cell phone waiting for Russell to call her but she knew it was too early. All she could do now was grab the closest laptop from across the hall, sit down with it, bring up all the case files on The Gig Harbor Killer and comb them meticulously for any clues she may have missed.

Sara, Greg and Morgan finished with the warehouse scene and took all the evidence back to the lab. Everything was scoured for prints, fibers, DNA, any type of trace of the copy cat. The blood was swabbed and given to Henry for analysis but the spatter patterns and drops were still difficult to discern. After several hours, they still couldn't make sense of the drops.

"I hate to say it," Morgan said somberly "but we really need Finn to help us."

"She shouldn't have to process evidence on a case that targets her," Greg said disgusted at the thought.

"Maybe the copycat wanted it that way?" Sara thought out loud.

"Very good," a soft voice spoke from the doorway.

They turned to see Russell with Agent Avery Ryan at the door.

"Hey guys," Russell said "I figured it would be good to loop Avery in."

"We could use the help," Sara said.

"This blood is all over the map," Morgan said "D.B, we really need Finn."

Russell sighed and said "I figured."

With reluctance, Russell told Sara, Greg and Morgan to focus on the other evidence while he gathered up the photos of the blood from the scene and searched for Julie. He found her in the break room surrounded by case files, and a laptop.

"Whoa, keeping busy I see," he praised her.

"I had to," she said tapping the pen in her hand anxiously on her notebook "any leads?"

"No," Russell said "we uh- got stuck- it's blood Jules, it's all we have."

"Just like before," she said sadly.

"Listen," Russell continued "I hate doing this to you, but could you just look over the photos, give us a preliminary run down."

He watched her for any signs of distress at his request.

"Sure," she said reaching out for the pile of photos Russell handed her.

She was silent as she began to examine the photos. Russell lingered to watch her work, wanting to keep an eye on her in case this task proved to be too much for her but at the same time unable to tear his eyes away from her as she focused on the photos. When he finally felt the stabbing pang of annoyance at this case, did he leave her to her work and return to help Avery and the others.

Julie combed over each photo meticulously, turning them upside down, sideways, even tearing one in half just to see if it fit with another image. The patterns of blood covered so much of the warehouse floor but each one looked too perfect to be part of a struggle. They were droplets, no velocity to them when they were placed there and she had to conclude that this was a staged part of the scene. The blood from Larson's head wound told a different story. That looked as if it had not been staged but had occurred as someone hit him with something hard. She would have to follow up with Doc Robbins to see what cause of death was officially but she had a feeling he probably wouldn't let her near the morgue since she was so close to this case.

By six o'clock that night, she knew what happened. Someone had killed Larson somewhere else, dragged his body to the warehouse, staged the scene and planted the blood for them to find. Once she had reached this conclusion, she leaned back in her chair, stretching, sore from sitting all day. Her eyes burned with exhaustion but she knew sleep would not be an option until this would be resolved. Instead, she gathered up her notes and the most important photos and roamed the lab in search of Russell.

She found him with Avery, Sara, Greg and Morgan in the layout room. They too had made a mess of their investigation, laying out notes and photos all across the table, using laptops to bring up more information. They all looked exhausted and they were all doing this for her. She felt a slight pang of guilt for her friends having to sacrifice their time in order to chase down someone targeting her.

"Guys," she called out quietly to them from the doorway. "I know what happened."

"That's great," Russell said happy to finally have made some progress.

"The blood was staged, as was most of the scene," Julie explained, her voice groggy from staying quiet so long "Larson was killed somewhere else, we need to find that scene."

"Just like we thought," Russell said glancing at Sara, "well done."

He praised both Julie and Sara since Sara noticed the blood discrepancies at the scene.

"So we need to look for a primary scene," Russell repeated "maybe another empty warehouse somewhere close by?"

"What about suspects?" Julie said "we can find all this stuff but it's useless if we can't find a person behind it"

No one spoke because they knew it was true. This was just like the conference shooting. And with Larson dead, who else knew of the secrets of The Gig Harbor Killer? The answer could be anyone after the publishing of Larson's book. As they stood there, wondering what angle to work next, Henry shuffled into the room.

"So I have DNA results," he said clutching the file looking somber. "All the blood at the scene belongs to Larson except for one sample collected near the door."

He paused to look at the paper again.

"I ran it twice and compared it like ten times," Henry said "but it's the same every time, I can't explain it."

When no one spoke, he continued.

"The blood sample from the entry way is female and a familial match to Paul Winthrop and Jared Briscoe." Henry concluded.


	3. Chapter 3

Worried glances were exchanged by everyone in the room at that news. A female, familial match of DNA meant that someone related to the Gig Harbor Killer was in the warehouse recently. Henry glanced at everyone, waiting for someone to say something.

"May Winthrop," Russell said darkly "that DNA has to be hers."

"The twin's biological mother?" Julie asked "we don't even know where she is, or if she's still alive at this point"

"She's alive," Russell said "Larson told me so, Paul knows, he told you that day we visited him in jail Jules, he wants us to find her, May is the one Paul and Jared were taking their rage out on, she gave them up for adoption, she fooled everyone into thinking Jared had died, she's the reason that you-

He paused, unable to tell Julie the reason she had been attacked that night in February was because Paul was using her as a surrogate for his mother, and that Russell had been on his way to tell her that information when he found her condo staged by Paul. He couldn't shake those images of all that blood, the broken glass, the swinging fishing hook, Paul's crazy look of smug satisfaction at almost taking away someone he loved.

Julie remembered the conversation with Paul in his prison cell last year but hadn't thought about looking for May Winthrop in months. Nothing connected her to this case except for the fact that she gave birth to killers. But now, with this DNA match, they would have to continue their search for her.

"O.K so what do we know about May?" Sara asked now.

"The last place she was seen was that convent in Seattle," Russell said "we need to start there."

"It's been so long," Julie said "those nuns won't remember her."

"It's worth a shot," Russell said "Jules, Avery, get a flight to Seattle and get any information you can, turn that convent upside down if you have to."

He was determined, now that this case had turned into a man hunt for May Winthrop. She was now their only lead on this case, dead or alive.

"Paul and Jared were born June 18th, 1976 to May Winthrop and Daniel Larson," Julie recited on the private jet with Avery as the flew to Seattle "May was fifteen, she left the twins at the convent as babies, both were later adopted even though she tried to hide Jared by claiming he had died."

"Any idea how May ended up spending thirty years at that convent?" Avery asked.

"When Detective Shaw and I were there, they had records of someone named Nancy Harper," Julie explained "that was the alias May used."

"Thirty years is a long time to hide," Avery said.

"But for a good reason," Julie said glancing out the window of the plane and seeing the Space Needle looming into view.

Autopsy was cool and dark when Morgan entered to meet with Doc Robbins who had concluded his autopsy on Larson.

"He was fairly healthy considering the shady business he ran," Doc informed her "tox found no traces of drugs or alcohol in his system."

"COD?" Morgan asked.

"Blunt force trauma with a sharp object," Doc said pointing to the large, gaping wound on Larson's head. "the injury pattern is rounded and I found metal pieces imbedded in it."

"Consistent with a fishing hook," Morgan said "Russell said that's what Jared used on those girls and what Paul used on Finn before-"

She fell silent, imagining the pain those girls and Finn had to endure at the hands of the twins.

"Speaking of Finn," Doc continued "she was right about the blood being planted at the scene, I found puncture marks on Larson's arms, someone drew his blood while he was still alive."

"Suggests the killer has some medical knowledge," Morgan deduced "what about DNA?"

"Confirms what we already know," Doc said "Larson is the twins' father."

Seattle's airport was bustling with people when Avery and Julie's plane landed. They navigated their way through security and out to the car rental facility. Julie knew exactly where to go from the airport having lived here for so long. The cooler air was refreshing as the breeze whipped her hair around, it made her feel lighter instead of the heaviness that had weighed on her during this case. When they pulled up to the convent, another car was waiting outside the gates. Julie recognized it but Avery glanced at it suspiciously.

"It's safe," Julie explained "it's my contact."

Julie contact stepped out of the car and greeted her with a hug.

"Jules," Kerry Torres sighed happy to see her friend.

"Hey Kerry," Julie said "how's everything?"

"Getting better," Kerry said and Julie noticed the scar on the side of her face from fighting Paul when he held her captive last year. "so what's this lead on May Winthrop you mentioned?"

"She's alive and we think she's killing people just like her sons," Julie said "we found her blood at a scene in Vegas, near the body of her twin's father."

"Wow," Kerry said shuddering slightly in fear "well I have all of Shaw's notes on this place, let's ruffle their feathers."

The three of them proceeded to the gated entry way of the convent. A statue of the Virgin Mary was the first thing they noticed upon entering followed by several more statues of religious figures. On the stone steps leading up to the building stood a woman dressed in long black robes that billowed in the wind. She was the same nun Shaw and Julie had met with last year; Sister Alice. She looked wary of them as they approached.

"CSI Finlay," she said recalling Julie from before "I thought the case you inquired about had been closed?"

"It's taken a new turn," Julie said "we need more information, everything you know about May Winthrop."

"No one here goes by that name," Alice said.

"You know her as Nancy," Avery said "she gave birth to twin boys here over thirty years ago."

"You showed us those records," Julie pressed "you knew back then and didn't tell us, now she may be responsible for several crimes, please, you're the only ones who had contact with her."

Sister Alice eyed them all with apprehension but finally motioned for them to follow her into the convent. She led them into dining hall and nodded for them to sit down in the closest empty chairs.

"Nancy, May," Alice began "joined us in 1977 and left us mysteriously in 2015."

"We know," Julie said "she was trying to hide from a very bad person, someone who was trying to kill her, her own son."

"I already told you everything I knew about those boys," Alice said in a hostile tone.

"Except the fact that you housed their mother for thirty years," Avery said "why didn't you tell CSI Finlay and Detective Shaw when they first asked?"

Sister Alice clutched the rosary around her neck and said "The lord teaches us to forgive"

"Does he teach you to forgive people who do this to other people?" Julie asked sweeping her hair back now and showing Alice her scar from where Paul had hit her repeatedly. "Paul Winthrop did this to me, he's in jail now but his mother is hurting people, and someone else might be hurting her, please, we need your help."

It had the affect she wanted. Sister Alice sat up, gave Julie a sympathetic look, took a deep breath and began.

"She came to us late at night," Alice said "she was about to give birth right on our steps, we couldn't leave her, so we helped her, she had those boys right here in the first bedroom, we adored those babies, it was our duty to protect them and their mother, but the next morning, when we went to bring her breakfast, she had gone, she left the babies, so we named them and hoped that someone would adopt them, when someone finally did, we were sad to see them go but overjoyed that they would have a chance at a normal life."

She paused to take another breath, twirling the rosary anxiously in her hand.

"And then she came back," Alice continued "almost one year later, she said she had made a mistake, she wanted her boys back but legally we couldn't tell her what happened to them except that they had been adopted, poor thing had nowhere else to go, her father had sent her away, so she offered to work for us in exchange for shelter from her father, the man was violent according to her, so we let her stay here, carrying the burden of her boys until one day last year when she vanished, no note, nothing."

"Did her father or any man ever come looking for her?" Avery asked

"Never," Alice said "not until the Seattle police became interested in the boys."

"Does May know what her boys did?" Kerry asked.

"Of course," Alice said "we may shy away from worldly pleasures but we have access to the papers and libraries."

Julie looked at Avery with concern. It was perfectly plausible for May to learn of her son's crimes, maybe even enough to recreate the scenes.

"When May learned about her sons crimes what did she do?" Julie asked now.

"Prayed," Sister Alice concluded.


	4. Chapter 4

Julie, Avery and Kerry left the convent after gathering all the information they could from Sister Alice. Now things were starting to make sense but Julie still felt her head ache with confusion as she tried to wrap her thoughts around this crazy family and case.

"So now we know why May left the convent in 2015," Avery said outside the iron gates "she knew about Paul and Jared murdering people and she knew they would find her so she had to hide."

"So why stay hidden?" Kerry asked "Jared's dead and Paul is in jail."

"She's been hiding for years," Avery said "she's been conditioned to do it, it's all she knows."

Kerry nodded then looked at Julie.

"I hope you catch her," she said "we've lost too many people at the hands of her and her family."

Julie nodded, the chilly breeze making her shiver and hug her jacket around her tighter.

Kerry stepped forward and embraced Julie now, whispering "Stay safe okay?"

As colleagues and friends who had both suffered at the hands of the Winthrop's, Julie knew Kerry could understand her fears.

"I'll try," Julie muttered jokingly knowing trouble and danger somehow always seemed to find her no matter how hard she fought it.

When Avery and Julie landed in Vegas, they returned to the lab with the story Sister Alice had told them. Russell listened to them tell the story in his office, trying to comprehend how someone like May Winthrop could stay hidden for this long. And now based on what the nuns said, it looked like May was doing more than just hiding.

"We've been operating under the assumption that May is the target," Avery said "but what if she's not?"

"Are you saying _she's_ the copy cat killer?" Julie dared to throw the idea out there.

"Based on the evidence so far, yes," Avery said "May has been living in fear her entire life, her father sent her to live in that convent, he was ashamed of her, that type of abandonment at a young age can destroy someone emotionally, she gives birth to twins that she can't care for, she dedicates her life to the nuns and trying to stay on a clear path, but then she sees what her boys have become, she wants to stop them but she can't, she thinks she's responsible somehow, that type of break with reality could make her want to right their wrongs, seek revenge on those responsible and who else is responsible for those boys existence?"

"Their biological father, Larson," Russell said, understanding what Avery was saying now.

"That might be, but we're forgetting something," Julie said "May Winthrop has got to be at least fifty years old now, and she's been living as a quiet nun for thirty years, would she even have the strength to carry out something like this?" She had to have help."

"Which means we might be looking at two killers," Russell said dreading that thought.

The three of them fell silent for several minutes, lost in their own thoughts.

"So let's say May is behind all this," Julie started up again "where would she hide? She would need a place to keep Larson hostage in order to take his blood and then kill him."

"May has no ties to Vegas besides Paul, Jared and Larson," Russell said "she probably doesn't know the city well; finding her here might be harder than we first thought."

They wracked their brains trying to think of a place where a seemingly quiet older woman could hide and then murder violently.

"May is a religious person correct?" Avery asked now.

"We don't even know for sure," Julie said "Sister Alice might be sincere in her practices but May could have faked her "holier than thou" attitude for years in order to stay with the convent."

"Still, for thirty years she's routinely practiced Catholicism," Avery said "I don't think she would change that practice even while on her hunt for Larson, maybe she's not hiding, maybe she's living in plain sight."

Russell understood now.

"A church," he said stunned that it took him this long to realize it, "or a convent here in Vegas."

"Not just any church," Greg said entering the office now with a printed paper in her hand "The Fellowship of Fallen Angels"

"That's Larson's church," Russell said "or what he called a church of healing."

"Well it hasn't been healing much," Greg said holding up the printed paper "Sara, Morgan and I went through the places records, Larson may have had all the proper permits and licenses but he was terrible with taxes, he had to foreclose on the place two years ago, right after Morgan and Ellie Brass were kidnapped, and long before Paul or Jared made it to Vegas."

"Well there's his motive for publishing that Gig Harbor Killer book," Julie said bitterly "he was broke."

Russell sat up at his desk now, realizing the connections were starting to come together.

"Okay," he said "we now have motive for May to target Larson and motive for Larson to earn money off of his kids' crimes."

"Some Thanksgiving's they could have had," Greg said incredulously, stunned at this family of bad seeds.

"So the church," Avery said now "who owns it?"

"The city," Greg said reading off the file "but according to the website, there are no immediate plans to demolish it or make anything from it."

"Sounds like the perfect hideout for a God fearing woman on the run," Avery said looking at Julie and Russell excited by their revelations.

"All right," Russell said determined, "let's go."


	5. Chapter 5

As the group hurried down the hall, Julie stopped everyone.

"Guys, this is all speculation," she reminded them "what if we get there and there's nothing, then what, we'll just be stuck again."

Russell looked at her, knowing she was right but slightly stunned that his fierce, determined blood whisperer was, for the first time, holding back. Was this a part of the changes the doctors had warned them about post coma?

As they stood in the hallway, Avery stepped forward and said "I know this has been difficult for you, and it seems like every time we got close to solving this case, a lack of evidence deterred it, physical evidence is everything, but our theories and the behavior analysis of May's actions so far count as evidence too, the best we can do is follow this and see where it takes us."

Julie looked at her colleagues knowing they wanted to see this Gig Harbor case resolved as much as she did. They all had her back, but she feared the unknown and she feared someone getting hurt at her expense. She remembered what Kerry Torres told her in Seattle, to stay safe. Well she had already beaten a coma, what more could life throw at her that she couldn't handle?

As she stood hesitating to continue on their journey, Sara and Morgan joined their group now.

"We got Greg's text," Morgan said now "we want to come too."

And now Julie understood, her friends were eager to help her now more than ever. They couldn't back down now.

It was dark when they pulled up in front of the poorly kept neighborhood where Larson's church resided. Julie realized they had been working for almost three whole days. The exhaustion hit her as she sat in the car with Russell and Morgan. Sara, Avery and Greg had driven in a separate car. While they had no warrant to search the place, they could observe the building from a distance and watch for any movement or suspicious activity. The prominent wooden cross perched atop the front of the building stuck out at an odd angle. Larson's handy work no doubt.

Russell didn't like investigating on hunches but for Jules' sake, he had to work every twisted, dizzying lead this case threw at them. From the car they could see the outlines of figures walking up and down the street, some homeless people, others on a different mission. Julie wondered what had become of the church "members" after Larson lost the business. Had they simply taken to the streets again, no longer protected by his religion? She didn't realize how long she had been staring at the same spot near the side of the church until something moved across her line of vision; a figure, hunched over, small in stature, wearing dark clothes and what appeared to be a long black skirt.

Julie sat up in the passenger seat where she had slowly begun to slouch, grabbed Russell's arm, startled and said "Look!" pointing at the figure as they disappeared into the church.

"Probably a squatter," he said but as he looked around, none of the other homeless people sought refuge in what was still a decent looking building. That was odd to him and to Morgan who whispered a minute later "No one else went inside though, that's weird."

"Should we check it out?" Morgan asked, leaning between the two front seats of the car.

The answer to their question came a second later when a bright orange light illuminated the space they occupied, stretching over the entire block. Flames shot out suddenly from the church, making them all jump in surprise. They exchanged worried glances at the thought of the mystery person in the building still, homeless squatter or not, they had to get them help.

"I'll call," Russell said reaching for his phone to dial 911.

Julie opened the car door and leapt out suddenly, recalling the mysterious figures long black skirt and thinking back to when they interviewed Sister Alice in Seattle, how she had donned the same black clothes.

"Jules what are you doing?" Russell asked her as she started sprinting towards the building.

"There's not enough time," she called out irrationally "I'm going in."

"Whoa, hey don't even think about- Russell stared to say, but Julie had taken off towards the church.

"Get her back here," Russell called out to no one in particular but regretted it when Morgan darted after Julie towards the burning building.

Julie ducked under the wooden beam that blocked the front door of the former church. She could see the orange glow of the flames coming from a room down the hallway. She called out foolishly expecting someone to answer but no one did. The smoke had started to fill up the hallway making her cough.

"Jules wait up!" Morgan called to her, reaching her at the end of the hallway.

"Someone's in here I know it," Julie said "help me find them!"

The pair navigated carefully around fallen beams, broken glass and torn book pages on the floor of the old church, searching for the source of the fire and keeping their eyes out for any signs of a third person. When they rounded the last corner of the hallway, they stumbled upon a bizarre sight. The hallway opened up into a large room Larson had likely used for group worships. Folded chairs lay scattered around the room but in the center, sat a woman, dressed in long black robes, tied to chair with what looked like ropes.

"May?" Julie called out confused but recognizing the woman from the nun's photo they supplied for the case file last year.

May Winthrop lifted her head to stare at the two CSI's now in front of her. At the same time, a large beam from the ceiling fell down, crashing behind May and sending flames shooting closer to her. Without thinking, Julie darted forward and started to untie her from the chair.

"Jules don't!" Morgan cried, throwing herself onto the ground beside Julie and May "she's the Gig Harbor Killer!"

But Julie didn't listen. She continued to tug at the tight knots on the rope, attempting to free May as flames continued to shoot up higher towards the ceiling. Morgan kept glancing back behind her looking for help from someone or something to cut the ropes.

The more knots Julie untied, the more May began to struggle, trying to push her away.

"No," Julie snarled "you're not gonna die here!" I won't let you!"

She didn't know what was driving her to save the woman who had made her life hell, but she kept going, feeling the heat from the fire start to rush up on her as she fumbled with the knots. The smoke billowed around them, making Morgan cough harder now.

"Come on Jules," Morgan pleaded with her friend "let's go!"

Julie felt her hands tremble as she struggled with the last knot, the fire building up around them. At last, the final knot loosened and Julie immediately stood up, dragging May out of the chair and towards the exit. The group struggled, May resisting Julie's insistent tugs to get her to move. The black smoke was thicker as they reached the hallway. It seeped into their lungs making them cough, tears stinging at their eyes but they pressed onwards towards the door that would get them back outside.

After what felt like an eternity, they could see the light from the street in the distance as they burst through the door, stumbled weakly onto the uneven pavement outside the church, before falling forward onto the grass a few feet away. Chaos erupted around them. Julie could hear Russell yelling at her but couldn't make out his words. She saw the fire department dragging hoses up to the building attempting to stop the flames.

"I got her," Julie kept saying over and over so everyone would know.

But May Winthrop had vanished from her sight and her mind when she saw Morgan stumble in the grass, dropping to her knees and then on her side, motionless.

"No," Julie cried horrified, trying to crawl to help her but her legs ached from the journey and her arms felt numb. The adrenaline was still coursing through her as she watched medics descend on Morgan, blocking her from view.

Another face swam in front of Julie as she continued to struggle to stand, feeling a burning sensation on her arms.

"What were you thinking?" Russell yelled at her, his voice muffled from the sounds of the fire billowing up behind her.

"Gig Harbor- got her," Julie stammered, grabbing at his arm for support then gasping when she saw her own skin, red and raw, blisters covering it. In the rush of saving May, she had been burned.

"Come on," Russell ordered her now, helping her stand and starting to guide her over to the second set of medics.

The pain intensified when Russell helped her stand but she couldn't move; she had to know that Morgan was okay. Julie struggled against him, trying to push him away and turn back towards Morgan who still lay motionless in the grass. But in her weakened state, Russell had the advantage and strength to guide her towards the ambulance. He set her down in the back of it with more force than he meant to, letting the medics tend to her now. She kept resisting, trying to claw her way back to Morgan, crying out for her.

"Help her," Julie pleaded with them "just leave me; you have to save her, please?"

But they ignored her, forcing her to stay sitting, blocking her view of Morgan but not of the wooden cross above the church that continued to burn.


	6. Chapter 6

Julie couldn't focus, everything around her was spinning too fast. Her arms burned as if they were still on fire and that pain radiated throughout her entire body. She didn't know how it happened but somehow she ended up at the hospital. Nurses swarmed around her but she kept fighting them, turning restlessly on the bed, trying to get away from them.

"Morgan," she called out helplessly for, grabbing at the bed's railing, pulling herself back to a sitting position before crawling out of it in one motion.

The nurses and the on call doctor that surrounded her tried to get her back into the bed but she had already wandered down the hall to the next curtained off area where Morgan was being treated.

Russell was there, hovering between the two triage areas, when he saw Julie stagger over to Morgan's bedside.

"Jules what are you doing?" he asked for what had to be the ten thousandth time "get back in bed, let the doctor help you."

"No!" she protested fiercely "I can't leave her."

She stayed hovering by Morgan's side, sniffling, terrified, and shaking. A familiar voice made her look up and over at the doctor treating Morgan, it was Dr. King, the same woman who had helped Julie through her coma recovery.

"Take her to radiology and then get her a room upstairs," Dr. King ordered for Morgan.

"What room?" Julie demanded to know as she was bumped by nurses who started to push the bed Morgan lay on down the hallway and through a set of double doors.

"Where are you taking her?" Julie insisted on knowing.

"We have to run some tests," Dr. King said "she inhaled a lot of smoke from that fire, you get yourself checked out, we'll keep you posted when she's all set."

And with that, she left them, disappearing through the double doors as other nurses and doctors bustled around them.

Julie remained rooted to the spot in front of the double doors that Morgan and Dr. King had disappeared through. She was too shocked to move and she couldn't dare to leave and somehow miss Dr. King returning. Russell stepped forward and said "Jules?" gently.

"What?" she snapped angrily at him.

"You really should get checked out," he pleaded with her, glancing down at her arms covered in blisters and other damage he couldn't identify.

"No," she insisted stubbornly, folding her arms delicately against her chest, wincing in pain. "Not until Morgan's o.k., I have to make sure she's o.k."

Russell sighed knowing there was no changing his stubborn blood whisperer's mind no matter what.

Russell couldn't handle seeing Julie hurt, worse still, refusing treatment until Morgan was better. He made some calls to Sara, Greg and everyone else to let them know what was going on. Then he made a check on May Winthrop who was being treated for smoke inhalation as well and was officially in police custody while being treated. They would have to talk to her eventually but right now his focus was Julie.

"She's refusing treatment," he explained two hours later while walking down the hall of the hospital towards Julie who was still standing firmly by the double doors. "Maybe you can calm her down, get her to see a doctor?"

"I got it," Nick said having gotten Russell's call about the fire and Julie's stubbornness.

Russell left them alone in the hallway. Nick turned to see her standing there, her back to him, unaware that he was behind her as she swayed on the spot repetitively.

"Babe?" he called quietly to her hoping he wouldn't startle her but regretting it when she jumped and spun around fast at the sound of his voice.

When she turned and saw Nick standing in the hospitals hallway looking at her with worry and concern, everything else that had happened in the last few days faded from her mind. Her only thought was about closing the distance between the two of them, which she by stumbling forward on shaky legs and crashing into him, burying her face in his chest and sobbing.

She let herself go completely at that point, sobbing out random snippets of the horrors she had witnessed on this case.

"Nicky, it's her, its Gig Harbor," she cried "and Morgan- she- the fire, I made her help me, it's _my_ fault."

When she crashed into him and started to cry, he knew how terrifying the ordeal had been. She never got this emotional unless something really hurt her. All he could do was hold her, supporting most of her weight at this point as she leaned on him, and rock her from side to side in the middle of the hallway.

"It's not your fault," he soothed her.

"Yes it is," she insisted, sobbing harder "bring her back Nicky, make her better."

"I wish I could sweetheart," he whispered in her hair "but she's tough just like you, she'll be fine."

But she continued to cry, sobbing incoherent words to him. He tangled his fingers in her hair and gently scratched her head knowing that always calmed her down after nightmares or a headache. The longer she cried, the more he realized her pain was more than emotions and guilt. Something else was hurting her and when he looked down at her hiding in his arms, he noticed the burns.

"Sweetheart this isn't good," he said, lifting her chin up so that she could see him and the angry looking red marks on her arms "please let the doctors help you?"

"But- Morgan," she protested turning back towards the double doors.

"She'll be fine," he reassured her, sliding one arm around her back and gently turning her back to face him "come on, let's go sit down."

The only way Nick could get Julie to sit down and have her arms looked at was if the doctor and nurses agreed to set up a small triage station right outside the doors where Morgan had been taken through. Once they did and she was seated at last, the grueling process began. Julie didn't realize how bad the injuries were until the doctor gave her a disapproving look for waiting so long to be treated. While he worked, cleaning and tending to her aching skin, she winced at every touch, biting her lip to hold back the tears stinging in her eyes but after crying so hard for so long, she couldn't stop them. When the doctor finished and had wrapped her arms in protective gauze, he warned her about keeping the wounds clean and offered her some pain medicine but she of course refused, knowing it would make her sleepy and she couldn't sleep until she knew Morgan was o.k.

Now Nick and Julie were alone in the hallway once more. She held her bandaged arms out in front of her feeling oddly constricted by them, completely and utterly useless now. She couldn't stop shaking as she looked over her injuries, feeling stupid for being so reckless. She glanced at Nick, tears in her eyes, in agony, physically and emotionally. He hated seeing her like this so he scooped her up and settled her in his lap to rest. She lay her head on his shoulder weakly, sniffling miserably, wondering what was taking so long with Dr. King and Morgan. She couldn't lose another friend at the hands of the Gig Harbor Killer.

But the longer they sat there, the more she began to feel the affects of the days' events. Her arms ached, her eyes burned from all the crying and she longed to close them but couldn't tear them away from the double doors which still remained motionless. She was freezing cold now. Despite Nick's arms around her, she shivered continuously, curling up in his lap, snuggling against him to keep warm. He held her tight, listening to her repetitive sobs. She would inhale sharply, exhale, and whimper each time. He wanted her to sleep but knew she would protest that idea vehemently. So he remained quiet and still, hugging her to him, shielding her from a small part of her nightmare, kissing her forehead, praying that she and Morgan would be o.k.

A/N: While I originally had Julie be with John Merchiston in previous stories, I really like the idea of her with Nick so I chose to have them in an already established relationship as the events occur in this story.


	7. Chapter 7

Nick sat with Julie in the hospitals hallway for what felt like hours. After several agonizing minutes, her sobbing quieted down to just sniffles. She kept her eyes focused on the double doors in front of her, staring at them for any signs of movement or indication that would bring them news on Morgan. Finally, one door swung open casually, and Julie jumped, startled.

"Easy," Nick said as she squirmed anxiously out of his lap and back onto her feet, swaying unsteadily.

"Where's Morgan?" Julie demanded to Dr. King who approached them.

"Technically I can't tell you," Dr. King said "family first."

"We are her family!" Julie insisted firmly.

Her voice carried down the hall where Russell, Sara, Greg, Avery and Ecklie had arrived.

"Are you all here for Ms. Brody?" Dr. King asked them.

"She's my daughter," Ecklie informed her.

"All right," Dr. King began, glancing at her chart "Ms. Brody suffered minor burns, and inhaled a lot of smoke from that fire but we stabilized her, she'll need to stay overnight for observation but she'll be fine, a little sore but otherwise okay."

Ecklie sighed with relief as did the rest of the team. Julie turned back to Nick and buried back in his arms, relieved but still in shock over the nights events.

"Can we see her?" Ecklie asked now.

"Sure," Dr. King said "but one at a time."

The team let Ecklie go first, following Dr. King down the hall to the private rooms for patients. They hovered outside the door while he went in to see Morgan. They spoke for a brief moment before he returned to the group, looked at Julie now and said "She's asking for you."

"Me?" Julie asked surprised.

She didn't want to intrude on Morgan recovering nor did she want to have to explain to her why she made her go into that fire. But Nick gently nudged her and she slid into the room, closing the door behind her gently. She hovered by the foot of the bed, arms folded, hesitant.

"Hey," Morgan said hoarsely, her throat sore from all the smoke.

"Hey," Julie said meekly "Ecklie- your dad said you wanted to see me?"

Morgan nodded, raised a shaky hand to point at the empty seat next to the bed. Julie shuffled over to it and sank down into it.

"You saved- my life," Morgan said struggling to speak with her throat still sore "I had to- tell you."

"What?" Julie asked horrified "no- Morgan, I dragged you into that mess, you're here because of me, it's all my fault and I'm so sorry."

Tears threatened to fall again as she sat with Morgan who looked disheveled and worn.

"Not- your fault- Jules," Morgan tried to reason with her "Gig Harbor- crazy."

"No," Julie said shaking her head "I'm crazy, I was obsessed with catching him, her, and it almost killed you."

"You- coma"- Morgan uttered "worse"

But Julie was not convinced.

"I should go," Julie said scooting forward in the chair preparing to stand up but Morgan reached out now and grabbed her hand weakly.

"Stay," she begged "please?"

Stunned, Julie obeyed and leaned back in the chair.

"Your arms"- Morgan said "what-happened?"

"Nothing," Julie said trying to cover the bandages by folding her arms in tighter against her body.

"Burns," Morgan guessed and Julie nodded, knowing it was o.k. to confide in her best friend.

"We both- have something- in common"- Morgan choked out.

"What's that?" Julie asked softly.

"We survived," Morgan concluded, grinning at Julie at their victory.

Julie stayed with Morgan until visiting hours at the hospital were over for the night and Dr. King ushered them out of the room so Morgan could rest. Back outside her room, the team stood around debating their next move.

"May Winthrop is still here being treated but technically she's in police custody," Russell explained.

"I want to talk to her," Julie insisted.

"No way," Nick protested, pulling her back in his arms protectively "this woman is connected to the guy that put you in a coma."

He turned to Russell now and said "I thought I told you I didn't want her anywhere near that guy or his crazy family?"

"You knew?" Julie asked squirming out of Nicks' arms now to pierce him with a confused look.

"I knew he wouldn't stay quiet locked up in prison," Nick said "but I never thought it would go all the way back to his mother." I just wanted to keep you safe."

"It's not healthy to do this now," Avery said "May won't be released into our custody until tomorrow, there are officers set to guard her room all night, you are all exhausted, lets turn in for the night and pick up tomorrow at the station agreed?"

She had a point. Russell could tell his team had worked so hard to get to this point. The warehouse scene was secure. The burned out church was not safe to process yet. May and Morgan were here. Julie was in no condition to keep working. Sara and Greg had given their all for this case. They all needed a break.

"You heard her," Russell said "let's call it a night."


	8. Chapter 8

Going home was one thing; getting Julie to relax was difficult. The minute she walked into their shared Vegas home, she immediately dug out the case files, wondering what they may have missed about May Winthrop that would have led her to Larson's church and set it on fire.

"She was tied to the chair, that means she either did it herself or had help," Julie rattled off her theory, rocking forward on the couch with the files, desperately looking for answers deep in the labyrinth of notes.

"Babe listen," Nick said kneeling in front of her "let's put these away and go upstairs, you need to sleep."

"I can't," she insisted "May- this case, I need to know why."

"We'll find out tomorrow," Nick tried to reason with her, beginning to fold up the case files.

Julie looked past him at Russell who had driven them home since neither of them had a car at the hospital and had lingered in their living room to make sure they were okay.

"D.B help me out," she said "these files, the staged blood, the fire, we need to make sure we have something to throw at May in interrogation tomorrow."

"We have plenty Jules," Russell said "Nick's right, you need to sleep."

The constant badgering from them both made her snarl in frustration but regret it when she felt her arms ache, the pain making her cry again.

"How about this," Nick said gently; scooping her up again and settling her in his lap "we will stay up and talk about the case with you until you fall asleep."

"Fine," she sighed, leaning back against him and rubbing her eyes "but you won't get me to sleep, I can stay up all night, you watch."

Watch they did. As promised, they discussed the case and May Winthrop and what she might have to say to them tomorrow at the station. Not even thirty minutes later and Julie had dozed, exhausted from the days events and from all the emotional turmoil that followed. Nick kept his arms around her protectively and Russell gave him the blanket from the arm chair to cover her with.

"Thanks," Nick told him, grateful for all his help with her tonight.

"No thank you," Russell said "you got her to sleep, that's a big deal, she's stubborn as hell but cranky when she doesn't sleep, I've seen her, Seattle."

He shuddered at the memories of a sleep deprived Julie Finlay. The thought haunted him still as Nick said "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier, I just thought she'd be safe with you and the guys here, and then this happens"

He glanced down at her heavily bandaged arms.

"No you have every right to be upset," Russell said "I've been kicking myself for re-opening this case two years ago; I never thought it would end like this."

"Do you think it's really over?" Nick asked him "seven years, two states, only to come down to one bad mother"-

He paused, hoping Russell wouldn't be upset by his pun.

"It certainly seems like we got our copy cat too easily," Russell agreed "but I have to go with good old Ockham on this one."

"What's that some zen guy?" Nick asked.

"Occam's razor," Russell reminded him, looking sadly at Julie now as she slept, wondering what horrors were invading her dreams "the simplest answer is usually correct, we should have started with May Winthrop first, maybe we could have caught her sooner and maybe-

He stopped, lost in thoughts as to how the outcome could have affected Julie. The coma being the one that stuck out to him the most as something he wished he could go back and change for her.

"Maybe no one else would have gotten hurt," he concluded sadly.

The next morning, the team plus Avery met at the police station where May Winthrop had been taken to following her stay in the hospital.

"I'd like a few words with her first," Avery requested.

"I know you would be a big help in there," Russell said "but Jules and I have to do this together, as far back as this thing goes, we need to speak to her first."

He motioned for Julie to follow him into the room.

"I'll be right here," Nick told Julie, knowing how important and difficult this case had been for them both. She had earned the right to question May about her life and her sons.

Unlike most interrogation rooms, this one was brightly lit due to the morning sun beating its way into the room from the tiny glass windows. May Winthrop was seated at the metal table, her hands folded together but her wrists handcuffed. She had a few cuts on her face and bandages wrapped around her arms like Julie but her hair had been combed through and now lay flat at her shoulders, her original black dress had been replaced with an orange prison jumpsuit.

"May," Russell said calmly as he and Julie took the seats opposite her "a lot of people have been looking for you, did you know that?"

She remained silent, her hands folded in a praying like fashion.

"Do you know who I am?" Russell asked her simply.

"D.B. Russell," she replied quietly.

"And?" he nodded to Julie.

"Julie Finlay," May told him.

"Do you know why you're here?" Russell asked her.

"Yes," she admitted to their surprise.

"Can I ask why then?" Russell tried "why did you set that church on fire? How did you even end up here in Vegas?"

"God," May answered "he lit my path, as he has been doing for years."

"What did God show you?" Russell asked playing into her delusion.

"Salvation," May said, darting her eyes to Julie then back to Russell.

"So he must have also shown you how to kill Daniel Larson?" Russell dared to confront her with the evidence now. "the hospital took a sample of your blood and your DNA last night, it matches the blood we collected at his murder scene days ago."

"God is merciful," May said "but that- that man"-

She tensed up in her seat, bowing her head again. Was she ashamed? Guilty? Russell couldn't tell. Maybe they needed Avery after all.

"May," Julie called to her now "tell us how you got here?"

"I have sinned," May choked out "my father punished me as the Lord saw fit, my salvation was through Christ at the convent, my only real home, my sisters cared for me, guided me to the heavenly father, helped me give birth, but being the unsaved soul I was, I ran, foolishly, returning out of guilt, the boys were gone, so it was my duty to Lord to serve him forever in exchange for my sin, and then one day, I saw them on a TV, they had _his_ eyes, I felt God's wrath, my never ending punishment and I had to act."

"So you came to Vegas," Russell concluded for her. "What about the forensic conference in Seattle, you staged a gun to go off and shoot John Merchiston."

"He got in the way," May confessed angry at the mistake "I had to warn you to leave me alone, I had to finish God's work."

"You tried to kill me," Julie said "twice."

"God forgives his children;" May ranted "he's the only one who can."

Neither Russell nor Julie could make sense of that. Russell looked at his phone where Avery had sent him a single word text "Father" and suddenly it clicked.

"May you killed Larson for what he did to you," he told her "you killed him because he reminded you of your father, so did your boys, but you couldn't save yourself from being just like them, no matter how much you love God."

May eyed Russell now, unconvinced.

"I have earned my place with our savior," she said "I have delivered us from evil."

She bowed her head again and they knew they were not going to get any more information from her. As they stood up to leave, Julie doubled back. She stared at May until May had lifted her head again to glance up at her. Despite the coma, the violence that had resulted from this woman, the agonizing search for her, now she was here and had suffered just as greatly. Julie couldn't help but sympathize with her when she said "We forgive those who trespass against us."

Back out in the hallway of the station, everyone else had been watching from the two way room including Ecklie.

"So," he said "are we looking at an insanity plea here?"

"No," Avery said "just a misguided woman who fled to religion to escape an abusive father and the "shame" of teen pregnancy."

"What about Collin Winthrop?" Greg asked.

"Based on May's reactions while discussing him," Avery read off her notes "It seems that she was trying to stop the violence from being passed down to her sons but clearly it backfired."

"And John in Seattle?" Sara inquired.

"Wrong place wrong time," Avery concluded.

"Larson's book may have just been a profit for him but it was literally a prophet for May," Russell added "She most likely used it to track her sons and the details of their crimes in order to kill Larson and mirror his death as the Gig Harbor Killer."

Ecklie paced around the small space in the hallway mulling all of this information over in his head.

"We still have a long way to go if we want this to hold up in court," he reminded them "Jared, Shaw, Collin and Larson are dead, Paul is in prison, and May is, well-

He glanced back into the interrogation room sadly.

"I'll call the D.A to arraign her," Ecklie said "you guys will probably have to testify very soon."

Russell and Julie nodded in understanding.

Ecklie turned to leave but doubled back to say "Congrats guys, you caught the Gig Harbor Killer."

But as he walked away, Julie shuffled over to Nick, rubbing her arms, still in agony, letting him hold her and sway soothingly with her on the spot as she muttered "How come it doesn't feel like it?"


	9. Chapter 9

Over the course of the next several days, many things occurred. Morgan was released from the hospital. The remnants of Larson's burned down church had been thoroughly combed through and evidence of May using it as a hideout had been found including a copy of Larson's book. May had been interrogated two more times by a district attorney and several psychologists to determine if she was mentally stable enough to take the stand or even be given a trial for her crimes. By the end of both interviews, they had determined she was indeed sane enough to stand trial. With that in motion, Russell began compiling all the evidence they had on both May and her son's. It was the largest case file he had ever submitted to any court in his entire career.

Nick stayed in Vegas so he could be with Julie while she recovered from the fire. For days she slept, trying to heal from the ordeal. About a week after the fire and May's arrest, Nick and Julie spent a day being lazy at home, trying not to talk or think about the fire or May until they heard someone knock at their front door. Sam started barking, leaping up from his sacred spot right beside Julie on the couch where he had taken to laying across her for protection since her ordeal. He raced to the front door alongside Nick who answered it.

"Agent Ryan," he said when he saw her on the porch "is everything all right?"

"Is Julie here?" she asked "I was hoping I could speak to her, and you."

"Yeah sure," Nick said letting Avery inside and into the living room.

Sam circled them as they sat down, leaping back onto the couch where Julie sat, turning around once and settling on top of her.

"He's cute," Avery said smiling at Sam.

"Thanks," Nick said unsure how to reply.

"I'm very sorry to intrude," Avery said "but Russell needed me to compose my files and notes on the Gig Harbor Killer for the trial, in doing so, I stumbled upon something you need to see."

Julie sat up now curious, gently nudging Sam so that he was resting on her legs now.

Avery opened up her travel bag and pulled out a manila folder from which she began to read.

"June 18th 1976, May Winthrop gives birth to twin boys Paul and Jared at a Catholic convent in Seattle Washington," she read "one year later, both boys have been adopted by separate families and May is left to reside at the convent for thirty years." The boys eventually learn of their adoptions, seek out May and end up killing women as surrogates for her over the course of seven years from 2009 to 2015."

Avery was listing things they already knew but when she paused to look at them before continuing, they knew something different was coming.

"On March 20th 1976, a nun outside a convent in Philadelphia Pennsylvania discovered a basket on their porch, inside that basket was a newborn baby girl," Avery continued "the nuns took the baby to the hospital to be examined and doctors were able to determine she had been born only a few hours ago." "After spending days in the hospital under the care of doctors and nurses, no one claimed the baby girl so she was put into foster care and listed as available for adoption." "Three months later, in June of 1976, a young couple named Karen and Patrick Finlay officially adopted the baby girl-

Avery paused to pull out a small wrinkled Polaroid photo of a man and a woman holding a bundled up baby outside a small brick home in a suburban neighborhood.

"And named her Julie," Avery concluded flipping over the photo to reveal the names "Karen, Patrick and Julie Finlay, summer 1976" on the back and in loopy cursive writing "Welcome Home Baby Girl"

Avery held the photo out for Julie to take but she had recoiled into the couch, stunned by what she was seeing.

"That's- that's me," she said "that's _my_ house and- my parents."

"In my research of possible motives for Paul Winthrop attacking you, something about him using you as a surrogate for his mother didn't seem right," Avery said "so I did some digging into the evidence you had from his office in Vegas two years ago, there was a computer and in recent searches there was an entire list of things about you, this adoption record being the one he looked at most recently prior to attacking you."

"But- that doesn't make any sense," Julie stammered.

"Honey it makes perfect sense," Avery sympathized with her "Paul didn't attack you to represent his mother, he attacked you as a representation of himself, of what you both went through as infants, being cared for under religious authority and later adopted."

"You're wrong," Julie said shaking now "I'm not adopted, my parents, would have told me."

But she began to think back to her childhood, no one ever mentioned this to her. She had always seen baby pictures of herself but they always seemed like they were real, like she had been part of the family from day one, and now, the evidence told her otherwise.

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way," Avery said now breaking the silence "but I intend to file this with my report for Russell as pertinent evidence in this case, it's motive that connects you to this case and I wanted you to know before I submitted it to the D.A."

"Well thanks," Julie said hotly feeling as if her entire world had crumbled at this news.

Avery handed her the photo and copies of all the adoption records from the orphanage before leaving them alone to process the news.

When Avery left, Julie retreated upstairs to the bedroom, shutting the door sharply. Nick went up to check on her, Sam trailing after him. He knocked on the bedroom door to respect her privacy before calling for her "Babe are you okay?"

She didn't answer him so he opened the door quietly and crept inside. She was curled up on the bed clutching the stuffed bear from her childhood to her chest, sniffling. An open book lay on the other side of the bed and he could see old photos stuck inside it. He gently moved the photo album before lying in bed with her, wanting to pull her close and hold her but hesitant of her reaction. He took a chance and slid his arms around her, his silent way of letting her know he was here when she needed him.

"I knew," she whispered now "I knew all along something wasn't right, when I was in college, and first learning how to type blood, we had to use our families as practice so I did and ours didn't match, my professor checked it himself, no familial match."

She choked up at the memories of that day that she had been forced to drive out of her mind.

"What did your parents say when you asked them?" Nick inquired.

"They told me I was wrong," she said "that the test was wrong, and never to do it again, they lied Nicky, I don't even know who I am anymore"

"Why don't we call your parents and tell them we know?" Nick asked "they can explain it better than Avery can."

"They're dead," she mumbled burying her face into the stuffed bear.

And now he felt even worse.

"Sweetheart I'm so sorry," he soothed, rubbing her back.

"I'm an orphan," she realized now "I always was, no one ever wanted me."

"Hey," he soothed "you are not an orphan, you have a family, me and the guys, we love you and we want you around."

She shook her head and squeezed the bear tighter remembering something.

"Even this is a lie," she said holding up the slightly squished toy "my dad said I got it after they brought me home from the hospital, but not as a baby, as a three month old."

They both knew only three months old was still practically a baby but it was the meaning behind the toy and why she had kept it all these years. She flung it suddenly onto the chair nearby but her heart ached upon seeing it lying there. It had comforted her for her entire life; she couldn't toss it aside like it was nothing. She scooped it back up and hugged it to her, clinging to it desperately.

"I hate this," she sobbed "crying so much, it's stupid, I'm such a baby."

She turned to look at Nick now and said "You don't have to stay anymore, you don't deserve this, this hot mess of my life, you deserve someone better."

But her heart ached as she spoke those words.

"You know I hate when you talk like that," he reminded her, wiping away the tears that had fallen down her face "you're my world; nothing you say or do will change that understand?"

She nodded but still couldn't shake the feeling of abandonment that hung over her from the news Avery brought her today.

"I can't change what happened," Nick said to her tucking strands of her hair behind her ear "but I promise I will do whatever I can to help you through this, and if you'll let me, I think I have a way to make you feel better right now."

"Okay," she muttered her voice crackly from all the crying.

To her surprise, he left the room for a few minutes and when he returned, she was still curled up in bed with Sam nuzzled up next to her. He crawled back in bed with her and asked "Think you're ready to go back downstairs?"

"I guess," she shrugged lazily.

"Good," he said kissing her shoulder "I have something to show you."

He held his hand out for her to take and she did, letting him guide her back downstairs. Their living room was crowded. Everyone from work had piled into the space, even Barbara Russell was there with D.B, and they were all staring at her with smiles.

"What's all this?" she asked hastily wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her sweater she had worn to hide the bandages covering the burns.

"Just listen," Nick said, holding her shoulders as her guided her into the room.

Morgan was the first one to stand up and hug Julie now.

"We heard about your parents," she said "that's really messed up, but we want you to know we're here for you."

"Whether you like it or not," Greg teased now.

"I was in the foster system," Sara reminded Julie "but I always knew who my parents were, I can't imagine what you're going through but if you need to talk, I'm here, always."

"We might be completely crazy," Hodges added.

"But we're a family," Russell said.

"And we love you," Barbara concluded, embracing Julie and swaying with her on the spot.

Her hug was so tight and lasted longer than she expected but she loved it. Julie had forgotten what it was like to have love around her. Her life with Karen and Patrick, her mom and dad, had been as normal as any kids. Just because she had been adopted didn't mean she was broken or an orphan and here were her friends proving that to her right now.

"You have always been like one of our babies Jules," Barbara reminded Julie and her heart ached at all the love that surrounded her right now.

Barbara let her go and Julie glanced back at Nick. He had gathered everyone up so quickly and shown her all the love she had to get her through this and anything else life threw at her. He smiled watching her be hugged and loved by the family that had shown him what love was. He knew exactly what he wanted to do now and couldn't think of a better time to do so then this moment.

She finished making her rounds of hugging everyone, thanking them for their support and endless love. When she reached Nick again, she wrapped her arms around him, leaned her forehead against his, grinned and said jokingly "I hate what you do to me."

"Sorry babe," he apologized knowing she was teasing him "but you're really going to hate me after this."

She gave him a curious look but didn't have time to guess what he meant by that because he whispered "Marry me," in her ear just for her to hear.

"What?" she gasped, leaping away from him in shock as he presented her with a small box. When he lifted the lid, she was faced with a sparkly ring set with a red stone.

Julie stared at the jewel, then at Nick. They had never really discussed marriage except for the times she told him she didn't want to rush anything. But here he was, holding up that ring, wearing that stupid grin she loved so much. After all they had been through, they always came back stronger. She realized there was no one else like him. He understood every single part of her personality and emotions, even the ones she couldn't explain to herself. She realized she had been silent for too long. Smirking, she shoved him playfully then uttered "Yes," softly, smiling so big her face hurt. That smile turned into a shriek of surprise when he picked her up, spinning her around the open space between the living room and the kitchen, laughing hysterically at his reaction.

In the chaos, the guys had missed his proposal and when Nick and Julie separated and he slipped the ring on her finger the room exploded. Morgan squealed delighted. Hodges and Henry cheered. Everyone else descended on them with hugs and cries of "Congratulations!"

"It's beautiful," Sara gushed over the ring.

"It's red," Greg noticed "that's different."

"It's not quite a diamond," Nick explained "its tinted red because of what she, of what you do at work babe, blood stuff."

Julie felt tears sting at her eyes when he explained the significance of the ring. She loved it! No one else would have one like it ever because he made sure of it.

"Can I help you plan the wedding?" Morgan asked now "I love shopping and I know some great dress ideas and the cake and flowers"-

"Of course," Julie said "that's what bridesmaids are for."

She smiled at Sara and Morgan, her unique way of letting them know she wanted them by her side on her special day.

That declaration led to more hugs and squeals of joy.

When Nick finally had a moment alone with Julie amidst the chaos, he embraced her again, kissing her once, twice, half a dozen times until she was giggling.

"Feeling better?" he asked.

"Much better," she said grinning.

She had been unable to stop smiling for a good hour now. But that was the affect her family and friends had on her. She was lucky to have made it this far and come out on the other side still in one piece, happy and grateful for her life. The cloud of violence that had hung over her for so long had vanished with the solving of this case. Of course there would be scars and moments of sadness if she thought about it for too long. But with her friends, family and Nick by her side, she was unstoppable.

A/N: Well there you have it. My thoughts on the Gig Harbor Killer case, how I wished it could have been resolved and how everyone at CSI should have gotten the happy ending they deserved, especially Julie Finlay. I hope this all made sense and if I forgot anything, I take responsibility. Thanks for reading and giving even one fraction of a second of your time to check this out and indulge in my world. It is greatly appreciated.


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